I come from a land down under......

After nearly 3 years away from home I finally managed to wangle 4 weeks holiday over Christmas & New Year in Sydney! It was so lovely to be back home and get lots of ma & pa hugs. Obviously nothing much had changed except all the kids had grown about 2 feet each. I spent the next 4 weeks doing nothing but realxing, eating, reading and spending time with friends.

Spent New Year's with Mark under the harbour bridge at Luna Park. It was great to have Mark around as it had been 4 months since he had left London for Singapore. We even went on the jet boat around Sydney harbour (thanks Andy for the pressie) and laughed so much! Got pretty drenched but in the heat of Australia nothing stays wet for long.

Clare came over to Sydney as well, catching up with her brother so got a couple days in with her as well. A bit weird being in my neck of the woods together but it was fun taking her to Bondi anyway. Me, Mum & Clare also went for a massage.

I spent time with all the girls back home which was lovely. Even got a chance to see my cousin Darren!

   

  

But all good things come to an end and I was back on the plane end of January to come back to London. I thought that most of the bad weather would have passed but unluckily for me it waited until I got back. I was staying at my friend Bianca's house for a couple weeks whilst I looked for my own place. It was a bit of a trek coming in from Essex but it was nice to spend some time with her. Then luckily I managed to find a 1 bedroom place! Result

I'M BACK!

Sorry for the hiatus, I'm now back in the blogging saddle. Wow since December I have done sooo much I can't be bothered writing so will give you a montage of events:

1. Disability in the Workplace event (nov 11) 2. Flowers from Amber for making her son's bday cake

 1. Chrissy Dinner with Mila & Helen 2. Chrissy jumpers

Chrissy dinner with the girls & Tom

The Guvnors Chrissy Ball, me & Steve and then all the girls

Walking in a Winter Wonderland.....

Hyde Park are hosts to the original Winter Wonderland every year and every year I never seem to get there. This year is different! Me, Lou & Claire met up after work and headed down for a bit of ice skating in the park. It was a lot harder than I remember but after I got the hang of it I was on fire!

Helena & Rachel showed up towards the end of our skating round and we headed off into the Wonderland to explore the many shops and food stalls available. EXTREMELY expensive. There were rides there and one go on a ride that may last a couple of minutes was £8!!!! Obviously we decided not to go on any of the rides, but I had a super tasty hog roast with apple sauce and stuffing. It was £6.50 but I ate every last bit. We also had some cinnamon & sugar coated churros and donuts. A fantastic evening hanging out with friends getting into the holiday spirit!

Works Chrissy Party

On Friday night we had our works Chrissy party. It was held in Bloomsbury Square, Victoria Basement and was nice. It was a great chance to catch up and chat to people I hadn't seen in awhile. We danced most of the night and then by midnight it was time to go home!

 

 

Saturday Tom came round and helped me pack up my stuff in the house and to put it in storage. It's amazing how much stuff I have accumulated but it has been 9 years! Sunday I still had more packing to do, but it was all about the clothes and baking equipment which I have far too much of both.

Finally finished the last load on Monday morning before I dropped the hire car back at the rental place. So all my stuff is pack and I'm living out of 2 suitcases and an archive box. We move out of the house this Saturday 17th and then I'll be at Tom's for a week before I FLY HOME!!!!!!!!!

I am sooo looking forward to getting home and doing nothing but hanging out with friends and family and to feel the sun shine on me once again!

Guvnors Christmas Ball

This year I had to organise the annual Christmas Charity Ball we have each year at the Hilton. It was decided to go with a circus theme and luckily I had a great team around me and we managed to pull off a fantastic event. It was quite stressful on the night but by the time the band started playing at about 11pm I was free of responsibility and ready to let me hair down. I also had a complimentary suite at the Hotel so the girls & I stayed there in a bit of luxury. It was a long night and all the hard work paid off. Sunday was a write off though as I was exhausted.

Award Winner

Not sure if I mentioned it but recently I won an award - Lend Lease Values Award. Someone nominated me believe I best represent our core values: Respect, Integrity, Innovation, Collaboration, Excellence & Trust. I won the award for the whole European region and got put into the global awards. Unfortunately I didn't win the global so just European domiance so far!

So embarassing though I had to get up and give a mini speech whilst excepting the award, so glad it wasn't taped because I was so nervous I think I told the audience I enjoyed my job about 4 or 5 times!

I now have the award on the cabinet behind me, Whooo hooo go me!!

More flowers....

So we had an event at our work for International Day for Persons of Disability and the girls came down from site to support it. They met a couple of basketballers from Warrington Disability Partnership and were shown how to dribble a basket ball in the wheelchair. A real eye opener.

I also got another bunch of flowers from Peter & Mark which was so sweet!